Skip to Content

The ‘yes, but’ economy. Yes, we’re worried about recession — but the economy remains resilient

<i>Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg/Getty Images</i><br/>Each week brings head-scratching contradictory news about the economy. This past week was no different
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Each week brings head-scratching contradictory news about the economy. This past week was no different

By Christine Romans, CNN Chief Business Correspondent

Each week brings head-scratching contradictory news about the economy. This past week was no different, with a batch of economic reports showing that — despite the recession talk — the US economy shows remarkable resilience.

Yes, the economy is strong. But it comes with a lot of caveats.

Let’s review:

However, these are just ingredients in a murky soup of conflicting “yes, but” headlines.

Yes, consumers say they feel lousy about the economy. But a record 196 million Americans went shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend — and those roaring sales numbers weren’t just because inflation has pushed prices higher, but also because people were making more transactions, according to Adobe Analytics.

Curtis Dubay, chief economist at the US Chamber of Commerce calls this “second-hand pessimism” and says the economy might not be doing as poorly as you think.

Yes, inflation at near 40-year highs is biting into family budgets. But Americans are booking air travel and heading to Disney parks in near-record numbers, even with higher park prices.

Yes, economists are worried about a recession, but the job market is incredibly tight with more than 10 million open jobs and 1.7 jobs available for anyone who’s searching for one (or looking to job hop).

“The labor market is incredibly strong again,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in a speech Wednesday. “It’s too great, in a way, because it’s going to be adding to inflation.”

So what’s next?

The truth is that no one knows what happens next. Forecasts have been notoriously unreliable in the post-Covid economy. (Remember “transitory” inflation?”)

The Fed has been trying to contain the highest inflation since the 1980s, jacking up interest rates six times this year and even rolling out a bumper three-quarter-point hike not once but four times in a row.

That means the next year will no question be a challenge as all that tightening continues to work its way through the economy.

But household finances are in better shape to handle it, with an excess $1.7 trillion in savings as a cushion — although people will likely have to dip into more of their savings.

And while the housing market may be cooling, it’s not crashing. After a very strong 2021, the sector is “readjusting, recalibrating,” Bess Freedman, CEO of Brown Harris Stevens, said on CNN’s “Early Start.”

Covid broke the economy and putting it back together has been hard to measure. Tens of millions of jobs were lost overnight. Schools closed, factories shuttered, more than a million lives lost. More than two years later, we’re still struggling to gauge the strength and durability of the recovery.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Business/Consumer

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KTVZ NewsChannel 21 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content